The World Communion Sunday!

This Sunday will be the World Communion Sunday. It is amazing to imagine all Christians in the world will serve the communion as one big family in Christ!

We will sing " Holy, Holy, Holy!" as our first worship hymn and the choirs will lift up "How beautiful" as an offertory at 11:00 service, "The Gaelic blessings" at 8:00. Also, the call to harmony; a men's quartet group, will praise a couple of communion songs during the communion at 11:00. I pray that we all get blessed by the Holy Spirit and be restored to share the love of Jesus to the world.

These are lyrics of two offertories. Enjoy~!

A Gaelic Blessing by John Rutter

Deep peace of the running wave to you, Deep peace of the flowing air to you,

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, Deep peace of the shining stars to you, deep peace of the gentle night to you, Moon and starts pour their healing light on you, Deep peace of Christ, of Christ, the light of the World to you. Deep peace of Christ to you.

How Beautiful

How beautiful the hands that served the wine and the bread and the children of earth.

How beautiful the feet that walked the long dusty roads and the hill to the cross. How beautiful, how beautiful , how beautiful is the body of Christ. And as He laid down His life, we offer this sacrifice that we will live just as He died; wiling to pay the price.

How beautiful the feet that bring the sound of good news and the love of the King. How beautiful the hands that serve the wine and the bread and the children of earth. How beautiful~How beautiful is the body of Christ. How beautiful!

Inviting to our Christmas Cantata

We will lift up our Christmas cantata "The Winter Rose" by Joseph Martin on Dec. 11th all three morning services with a full orchestra.
I would like to invite anyone who would like to join singing or playing instruments to proclaim our Savior, Jesus, with a beautiful music! Please go to our web site and see the dates of rehearsal and contact me! The Winter Rose was beautifully written like a poem; desribing our Savior, Jesus as a beautiful winter rose.
There will be two time offered rehearsals; one on Wed. night starting Sept. 21st at 8:30-9:00 PM for 30 min. The other one starting on Oct. 30th at 12:30-1:10 Sunday right after 11:00 service. Either one will be great if you can join us. Please contact me before you join.

The adult choir had a mini retreat last Saturday in our church. There were around 40 people, sharing what core values are in our lives and as a choir member. We focused on also rehearsing "Missa Festiva" which will be performed on Oct. 29th at 7:00, and had a reading session of our Christmas cantata. We all got very excited.

We still need more people to join us in various ways; The student choir, band; children's choir, handbells, chimes, and of course adult choirs as well as instrumental players.
As I heard over the people's shoulders, there are many school activities scheduled on Sunday mornings. It broke my hearts; it means Christians are not standing up! We need to proclaim that worshipping God is our priority as christians! We sometimes get too soft to stand up. I have been praying for this problem as soon as I heard. People who are not Christians do not have any ideas about Sundays. We need to stand firm of our priority. Let's keep praying!

All Choirs and instrumental groups start on week of Sept. 11th!

What an exciting week! All choirs and instrumental groups will start their rehearsals on the week of Sept. 11th.
Please look closely on our church home page with the calendar! www.florisumc.org

This Sunday is our Sunday school kick off Sunday as well as Sept. 11th. When we think about ten years ago Sept. 11th, there is always heavy and sad feeling. Life never has been the same after that day. Even though I did not have any direct connection to people who got killed and injured, I still get chill and heavy heart.
However, I am grateful for God's presence among us; His faithfulness, hope, peace, and comfort are still here among us. I would like to share these God's charcters through our anthem on this Sunday; called "Canticle of Hope" by Joseph Martin. It was written to the people of Oklahoma city. The combined adult choirs will sing this song to proclaim that God's faithfulness, and His promise of restoration. I pray that God reveals in our music to everyone, especially who need to hear the message strongly.

Here is the lyric of the song.
Lord, You are God, perfect in holiness. Lord, You are God of the needy and the poor.
A sure defender, You are our refuge. You are the Giver, You are Jehovah. You are the God who restores.
Lord, You are God, reigning in righteousness. Lord, You are God in the time of our distress.
We call on You, our sure salvation. Lord, You are faithful. You are the God who restores.
Lord, You are God, rulling in gentleness. Lord, You are God. You wipe away each tear.
You hrea our every prayer. You give us comfort. You touch our hearts and calm our fears. You are eternal. Alpha, Omega. We place our hope in You alone.
Lord, You are God, perfect in holiness. Lord, You are God. In our darkness You are everlasting light. Great is Thy faithfulness! You are the God who restores. Your love restores.